2010 Big Diamond Track Champion, Doug Manmiller completed the 2012 Coalcracker weekend with his win in the Coalcracker ‘72, commemorating the 40th year of competition at the Big Diamond Speedway.

Doug Manmiller piloted the Josh Biever owned #46 for the win in the Coalcracker ‘72.

In spite of intermittent rain showers, track manangement, race teams and fans perservered to complete the final show of the 2012 racing season at the Big Diamond Speedway.

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Oddly enough, Manmiller passed his Friday night ride and car owner, Shawn Fitzpatrick for the lead on lap nineteen. Fitzpatrick drew the pole for the start of the 72 lap event and quickly put his Schaeffer’s Harley Davidson T102 out in front of Rick Laubach at the start of the event. When Laubach pushed out of the groove on lap thirteen, Manmiller slid into second. A lap nineteen restart had Manmiller restarting on the outside of Fitzpatrick as Manmiller moved out in front to take the lead.

A multi car incident on the homestretch drew the red flag on the restart following the mandatory fuel stop at the half way point. After landing on his roof, Ray Swinehart was able to drive to the pits but the cars of Kevin Albert, Billy Pauch, Jr. and Gary Hager were towed from the scene with race ending damage.

Laubach moved into second when Fitzpatrick slid high on lap thirty eight as Craig VonDohren moved into third after starting in the last row on the original start. Billy Pauch Sr. and Jeff Strunk raced in the top five

As the laps counted down, VonDohren and Strunk passed Laubach to take over second and third. VonDohren hunted down Manmiller and pulled along side of the leader on several occasions but was not able to pull ahead to take the lead. Each time, Manmiller rolled the Biever #46 off the top to move out in front.

Strunk had several looks to the inside of VonDohren but he, too, was unable to move ahead. In the closing laps, the battle was for the fourth spot and Duane Howard and Laubach dueled for that position.

With the checkered flag waving, Manmiller took the first big race win of his career ahead of VonDohren, Strunk, Howard and Laubach.

Manmiller and Jeremy Becker were the winners of the three lap Cash Dashes for the Station House 358

Doug Esh of Lancaster staged a come-from-behind victory in Saturday’s 45th annual Tuscarora 50 sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints at Port Royal Speedway.

Including lap money, Esh took home $11,450 for his second win in the prestigious race after first taking a victory in the event in 2007.

Mike Wagner of Harrisonville earned the pole for the 50-lap main and took the lead when the green flag fell over the field over second-starter Mike Erdley.

During the early going, in a quest for his first-ever T50 win, Wagner pulled away to a comfortable lead with Brent Marks racing in third.

The race pace was slowed with four laps down when 2010 50 victor Brian Montieth slowed to a stop on the backchute.

Daryn Pittman and Dale Blaney lined up fourth and fifth for the restart.

But there was no challenge for Wagner when green reappeared as he continued piling up lap money in the race at a clip of at least $25 per circuit.

But as the action wore on, Myerstown’s Marks began to come on in his No. 19M, taking second from Erdley on lap six before slowly erasing Wagner’s advantage.

The leaders entered lapped traffic with 16 laps completed and Marks was on Wagner’s bumper by the time the backmarkers entered the race.

It took Marks until lap 18 to race by Wagner for the lead, ending his run at the front with a total of $550 in lap money accrued.

Wagner then saw Erdley race by for second on the next lap as the front duo seemed to stabilize while eyes on action shifted further back in the pack during what had been non-stop action since the fourth loop.

It was four-time 50 champ Lance Dewease and Danny Dietrich that was catching attention as they battled forth from their ninth and 15th starting spots respectively.

The pair had advanced rapidly into the top 10 and Dewease seemed to be building up quite a head of steam aboard his No. 30C, passing at will until he and Dietrich locked horns one lap shy of the halfway point.

As Dewease shot off of the fourth corner to complete lap 24, he drew inside of Dietrich for sixth spot as the pair headed for the stripe and the pair touched when Dietrich seemed to move down in and effort to thwart the attack and set his car into the first turn.

Dewease’s car climbed Dietrich’s inside left rear tire and the pair went careening into the outside first turn wall, disabling both men for the night and bringing out the red flag with 24 in the books.

Dietrich was runner-up in the 2011 T50.

The restart for the final 26 laps had Marks leading over Erdley, Wagner, 10th starter David Gravel, fourth starter Dale Blaney and eighth starter Esh.

The next lap was worth $200 for Marks, to be leader at the halfway point, which he pocketed as Esh began his march to triumph with an impressive two-car pass while rim riding around the track to drive into fourth, disposing of both Blaney and Gravel with 22 laps to go.

One more lap and one more car found Esh now up to third, again blasting by competitor Wagner using the ragged, way-up-top outside edge of the track.

However by that time, leaders Marks and Erdley had amassed a healthy advantage and Esh was forced to drive down the distance before making moves for the win.

He finally reached Erdley with 18 laps to go and surpassed for second before using three more loops to run down Marks and cap off his impressive drive to the front on lap 35.

Marks ended his leading run with some $650 in lap money pocketed.

After Esh took the lead aboard his Leach Automotive No. 30, he began parting the waters through lapped traffic and was just one mile from the checkers when a pair of caution flags frustrated his efforts.

The first was for a surging Erdley who drove into second with eighth laps to go and began closing on Esh but fell victim to a flat tire.

Gravel restarted second but separated from Esh by a pair of lapped cars and he hadn’t yet cleared both lapped cars when Marks stopped, also with a flat, setting up a one-lap dash to the finish that Esh handled easily.

Gravel crossed the line in second followed by Friday’s Night Before The 50 winner Dale Blaney, Wagner and 18th starter Danny Lasoski.

Pat Cannon of Etters clinched his third career 358 sprint car title at Selinsgrove Speedway with his eighth win of the year at the track in the division’s 25-lap main event Saturday night.

The victory also marked Cannon’s 40th career at the Snyder County half-mile oval driving the Highlands’ Tire & Service Center No. 3. He joins Chad Layton of Harrisburg and Blane Heimbach of Selinsgrove as the speedway’s only three-time 358 sprint car track champions.

Jeff Rine of Danville returned to victory lane for the first time since July when he captured his sixth win of the year in the 25-lap late model feature. The win was Rine’s 78th career at Selinsgrove.